Monitoring and visualising electrical activity of biological tissue, such as neural, myocardial and other tissues, is of great importance in biomedicine.
Central nervous system (CNS) disorders in humans account for huge health care expenditures. The cost in Europe alone is estimated to be in the order of €800 billion annually. Deeper understanding of the underlying mechanisms governing neurophysiology and related neuropathologies is of great importance, and over the years many methods have been employed to gain a better understanding of the subtleties of these complex systems. Better understanding leads to higher diagnostic capabilities and thus opens avenues for therapeutic intervention with such disorders. Typical examples of such common ailments include epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's and multiple sclerosis (MS).
In vivo and in vitro monitoring of bio-potentials is normally reliant on devices with classical electrodes. In these devices, each electrode needs to be individually connected by an electrical conductor to electronics for both the recording of information and also for stimulation. Due to the bulky nature of the wiring array and associated electronics, the number of interface channels is constrained to some tens or possibly hundreds.
There is a need in the art for improved and less invasive devices that can provide improved measurements of the electrical activity of biological tissue.